Can it be?
by CreativeThought
Summary: Not really good with summaries, but I thought a different love triangle would be worth a try. It is a complete story. Am new, so didnt know how to place chapters. So there is more than one. PLease R


CHAPTER 1 

Layla stood by the window and watched the rest of the Winx Club girls leave. She opted to stay behind this time, for her own sanity. Watching the girls leave on the back of their boyfriends' leva-bikes, Layla couldn't help but feel a sting of jealousy run through her. 'Probably the best to stay behind' she thought. 'No use in being a lonely wheel'.

As she watched them leave, she decided now would be a good time to put on her sweats and go for a run around the school. 'Better to run my frustration away before the girls get back' she thought 'Wouldn't want them to catch on'.

She wore a purple and white tank top with a kaki pair of shorts and sneakers. "Right, I'm ready", she said to herself. "Ready for what Layla?" said Mirta as she walked out her dorm room. "Oh Mirta!" You startled me!" said Layla. "Sorry about that", said Mirta. "So what you ready for?" "Oh, just going for a run around the school. Need to keep a shape ya know", she said lying. "Care to join me?" "No ways", said Mirta, "I would never be able to keep up with you". "I've seen you go for a casual jog and even that looks too strenuous", she smiled. Layla gave a short giggle and said "Suit yourself, see ya later".

Running the route around Alfea is a great way to keep in shape. The school is so big that a person could easily break a sweat and get the perfect workout at the same time. Layla knew that she was pushing herself, but felt the need to get her frustrations out. 'Why is it that every time the girls go out with their guys, I tend to get a little tense?' she thought. 'Is it that I'm afraid to be alone or is it that somehow I wish I had someone who cared about me as much as their guys care about them?' At this point she ran faster so she could actually feel her muscles burning. 'I've never needed to have a boyfriend! Why all of a sudden these feelings?' she thought angrily. With this she pushed herself harder until she cried out in pain and collapsed on the ground with pure exhaustion.

Lying there on the grass, Layla shed a tear at how ridiculous she felt. "Never gonna let the girls know about this", she said to herself. "Waay to embarrassing", she laughed.

She lay there a while. She looked up at the sky and just stared. Not long after she heard the sound of leva-bikes coming through the school gates. "Great, Im all sweaty and they choose now to come back!" she said to herself a bit irritated. She got up and made her way back to the school hoping that they would not notice her. "Hey Layla!" yelled Musa just as they were getting off. 'Here we go' thought Layla. She put a smile on her face and she thought to herself 'I better get over this issue before it starts to affect my friendship with the girls'. "Hi guys", she said. "Hey, why you look like you've been chased around?" asked Musa. "Oh!" said Layla realizing that she was still drained out from her run. "When you guys left, I decided to take a run around the school", she said sheepishly. "You wore yourself out again didn't you?" said Bloom looking worried. "Um…not really, Im ok", said Layla her eyes to the ground. "You shouldn't do that ya know," said Brandon "Lord Darkar is just itching to catch you off guard" he said. 'Like anyone would care' she mumbled. "What was that Layla?" asked Flora. "Oh, nothing", she sighed. Why was Brandon so disturbed by Darkar being after her anyways? Not like he cares. "You know what will help you Layla?" asked Stella, looking her radiant self. "What", "A total makeover session darling!" she said. "Um…no thanks Stella. I think Ill just go take a long relaxing shower and Ill be alright" she said. "See you guys later".

As she turned to walk she felt someone grab her arm and say "Hey Layla, you coming to the ball on Saturday?" It was Brandon. "THE WHAT?" asked Layla. "You know, the summer ball", he replied. "Why would I?" she said. And with that turned around and walked back into the school leaving the rest to ponder about the fantastic day they had and a very confused Brandon.

CHAPTER TWO 

Should he say something? No, best not to. Brandon lay on his bed the night before the summer ball. The last few weeks he had been feeling uneasy. And generally that feeling increased when he saw Layla. 'Why is she also so tough?' he thought. 'Since she arrived, I've never once seen her totally relaxed'. 'I supposed after being a prisoner of Darker, it is kinda difficult to relax' he then summed up.

It was all pretty much arranged for the ball, Sky + Bloom, him + Stella, Riven + Musa, Timmy + Tecna and Helia + Flora. 'Poor Layla', he thought. "I wouldn't mind going with her" he said to himself. "With who?" asked Sky. "Oh!" said Brandon startled, only realizing then that he had said it aloud. "Stella, I wouldn't mind ever going with her anywhere" he said all sheepishly. "Bro, sometimes I worry about you" said Sky laughing.

Had the thought really crossed his mind? Had he really thought of Layla as a better partner than Stella? Brandon was confused. Here was this new girl entering his mind almost daily and yet he also cared for Stella. What was he going to do? 'Best keep this to myself' he thought.

Layla had become increasingly annoyed at the prospect of the ball coming up. The girls had not stopped talking about it all week, and now, the night before the ball the chatter reached intensity. "Oh come on Layla, you have to come" begged Musa. "Yeah Layla, I don't see any reason why you wouldn't want to go. It just doesn't seem logical" said Tecna. "YOU DON'T SEE WHY IT ISNT LOGICAL? HOW ABOUT THE FACT THAT WHILE YOU LOT ARE HAVING FUN, IM STUCK SITTING DRINKING LEMONADE ALL NIGHT!" screamed Layla. She realized what she had just said and saw the shocked look on the girls' faces. She ran out the dorm room and proceeded to her own.

After a while there was a knock at the door and Flora stepped inside. "Sweetie? Are you ok" she asked. "Don't worry about me Flora, Ill be ok. I'm sorry I yelled at everyone" said Layla who by now was crying so badly she couldn't stop. "You know you wont be sitting alone all night. We will be with you," she said. "I know," said Layla. "Will you change your mind then?" asked Flora. "Maybe" said Layla "Ill think about it". With that Flora left and Layla cried herself to sleep.

The next morning at breakfast, Layla walked downstairs and as she approached, she saw the girls look at hesitantly and almost afraid. 'I guess Ill just have to make them happy, I hate seeing them sad' she thought. "Hi guys" she said. "Hi Layla. You ok?" asked Bloom. "Yeah, I'm fine. Uh…girls I just wanted to say sorry about last night and that if you really want me to go tonight….I will" she said heavily. "HOORAY" they all yelled at once. "Have you got a dress yet" asked Stella. "I might have something," said Layla trying to feign interest. "Ok, that leaves it up to me with jewelry and make up!" said Stella. "I don't need all of that…." Began Layla but was interrupted again by Stella "Of course you do!" "Don't worry hun, Ill sort you out" she said with a big grin on her face.

CHAPTER 3 

That night as Layla put on her dress, trying not to ruin her hair and make up in the process, she looked at herself in the mirror. 'Why do I put myself through this' she thought. 'I know I'm a princess, but I'm not much for the glamour and glitz thing like Stella is. Maybe that's why Brandon is with her instead of….WHAT? Where did that thought come from? You better get that idea out of you head NOW' thought Layla.

"Layla are you coming? The boys are here" called Musa. "I'm nearly done, Ill get you there" she said. Once she was ready, she walked down the stairs to where her friends were. They were talking amongst themselves when they heard her come down and turned around simultaneously. They all gasped.

Brandon turned around to where he saw Layla walking down the stairs. He was speechless. She looked so beautiful. She had a very light green sparkling holterneck floor length gown that showed off her figure. She had silver stilettos on and a silver necklace with a teardrop in the middle. He had never seen anyone so beautiful. He couldn't breath. "Darling!" yelled Stella, bringing Brandon out of his trance. "You look gorgeous!" she said. Everyone agreed and none more so than Brandon.

As they walked into the venue Layla caught Brandon staring at her. He turned away very quickly and carried on walking with Stella. 'Wonder what that was about' she thought. 'Never mind, just try and be happy with your friends and soon it'll be over".

Time, unfortunately, did not seem to fly and as predicted Layla spent most of her evening sitting on the chair and drinking lemonade. The numbers of fast moving songs were few (mainly because there seemed to be more couples than singles at the ball) and she was completely bored. She faked a smile whenever the girls would look her way to see if she was fine. Layla decided she would take a walk outside as it was a great evening. She slipped away without anyone noticing and proceeded to walk out to the beautiful garden and fountain in Alfea.

She was sitting by the fountain simulating little water people when she heard something move behind her. "Wh- Who's there?" she said. Silence. Nothing but crickets. She brushed it off as her imagination. Again, another brushing sound. This time she was firmer. "OK, who's there? Come out or else!" she demanded.

Slowly out of the shadow came a guy with brown hair and with a sheepish look on his face. "Hi there" said Brandon. "Hey" said Layla. "What are you trying to do? Give me a heart attack!" she snapped at him. "Look, I'm really sorry" he said. "Was just watching you sit and…" he trailed off. "And why would you find the need to spy on me?" she asked getting rather annoyed at the useless banter. "Well….I never really got to say how nice you looked tonight" he said looking down. This stunned Layla as it was the last thing she was expecting him to say. "Is that why you were kinda looking at me funny on our way in?" she asked. "Didn't know you would catch me" he replied. "Well I did and its kinda weird" she said. "And why would you say that?" he asked. "Well…its just that I didn't know what to make of it" she answered. "Well.." he started. Just then he hear Stella say "Snookums? Did you find her?" At this Layla's expression changed. For a second she did think he just came to speak to her out of his own accord, but that just seemed an unreal theory. Illogical as Tecna would say. Brandon then said "Yeah! I found her. On our way" after which he hurriedly added to Layla "I really think you look beautiful tonight". Too shocked to say anything, she followed him back to the others who were waiting.

CHAPTER 4 

Layla awoke the next morning to the sound of the girls giggling and detailing the night before. Just then her door opened. "Great you awake" stated Flora. "We all going into magix for lunch today. Fancy coming along?". "Um..well yeah" said Layla still groggy. "Ill meet you downstairs in 20 minutes" she said. "Ok" said Layla.

Last night proved to be, if not boring, just a little more interesting than she thought. Why had Brandon looked at her in that way and why had he said that he thought she looked beautiful? 'Don't even think about it!' scolded her subconscious mind. 'He belongs to Stella'. "True" she said. And with that she got out of bed and proceeded to get ready.

(Downstairs)

"Ok guys, lets go" said Layla who had finally made it down. "You know Layla, I'm not sure who's worse at getting ready, you or Stella" laughed Musa. "Hey!" shouted/giggled Stella. "Come on girls lets go and have some fun" said Bloom. "Right behind you" said Flora and Tecna.

They were eating a Dunkin Doughnuts. "Gosh this place has the best coffee in town" said Layla. "Yup, and nothing beats their toasted sandwiches" said Bloom. "Not to mention the doughnuts!" added Musa. "Hey look!" said Flora, "the guys made it".

On their leva bikes were Sky, Brandon, Riven, Timmy and Helia. 'Great, just what I need' thought Layla sarcastically.

"Hi girls" said Sky as they approached the girls. "Hi" replied Bloom who had by now, along with the other girls, had made place for their boyfriends to sit next to them. This left Layla, who had been sitting next to Stella, uncomfortable. Just as she suspected, Stella had made room between herself and Layla for Bran don to sit. "Hey babe" he said and gave Stella a kiss before he sat down.

As everyone started chatting, Layla found her thoughts drifting once again to the night before and Brandon. 'Stop it!' she yelled at herself. Just then she heard Stella say "Girls, lets go shopping!". Everyone agreed in unison. The guys groaned as they knew they'd be lugging heavy bags around for the rest of the day. Layla, however was thankful to get away. "I saw this new sports shop that has opened. I'm going to check it out" she said.

In the sports shop Layla was thrilled at the new ladies section that they had. "I can find great stuff here" she said excited. "Well how about you try this. I think it'll look great on you" said a voice behind her. "Brandon!" she exclaimed. "What are you doing here?" she asked. "I needed new trainers and Stella isn't much for sports shops, so I said I'd meet her back at Dunkin Doughnuts. "Oh" was all Layla could say. He looked at her curiously. "What?" she said. "Well? Aren't you gonna try these on?" he asked holding a kaki/green skort. "Well um I guess I will. Thanks" she said. "You should go look for your trainers now. You wouldn't want Stella to wonder why you came back with nothing" she said. "Oh yeah" he said. "See ya later" he called.

Layla tried on the skort. She came out of the changing room to have a better look in the bigger mirror in the store. "Knew it would look great on you". She turned around. "Brandon! Why do you always sneak up on me?" she said exasperated. "And why do you care about what looks great or not on me?" "Sorry Layla, I know you edgy. Didn't mean to sneak up on you". The second question however, he could not answer. Why did he care? Not as if he was her boyfriend or anything. 'WHAT! Where did that thought come from? "Just think it looks nice that's all" he replied. "Um..gotta go. Stella is probably waiting by now" he said. At that he left, leaving Layla confused once again.

**CHAPTER 5**

Layla sat bolt up right in her bed. It was dark and she was sweating. 'That same dream again' she breathed heavily. No one knew she had the recurring nightmare about Darker almost every night. The same situation. She's alone in the forest. She's running. She knows something is behind her and yet she cant make out what. She trips and falls. He towers over her and with his shadow it becomes incredibly dark. "Well princess, looks like I've got you now" he says. "You'll have to kill me before I ever go willingly with you" she says. She transforms and begins her attack. He brushes off her every move. Even her strongest attack doesn't work. "Its not working" she gasps. "You will never be stronger than me" he bellows. "I hope you rot in hell Darkar" she says. With that he lunges forward and that's when she wakes up.

She blinks to get the horrible thought out of her head. "Am I weak?" she asks in the darkness. "Will he really get me and I'll be his slave forever?". Why wasn't there anyone she could turn to? She could talk to her friends about it. Goodness knows they would understand. But the mere thought of Darkar getting to them was just to horrifying to think of. She pulled Piff her bonded pixie to her and put the pixie on her head. With that she drifted into a peaceful sleep.

The next day she decided to have breakfast and go for a run before classes start. As she was stretching in the hallway she heard the girls. "Hey Layla!" called Musa "You up early" she said. "Yeah" replied Layla. "I had breakfast already and I thought Id go for a run and then take a shower before class" she said. "Man, you really train way to hard" said Musa. "Yes sweetie. You should take it easy" came Flora's response. "Yeah I know. Ill take it easy I swear" said Layla. Just then Bloom came up to her and said softly "Layla are you ok? You've been training really hard and I'm afraid you going to burn yourself out" she said. "Don't worry Bloom, Ill be alright" she said. With that Layla ran out into the sunlight and started a brisk jog. As she ran towards the pathway to the forest she increased her speed. She needed to clear her head. She felt overwhelmed by all the thoughts going on in her head. As she went faster, she heard a noise to her right. She stopped and heard the sound of a motor. "H-hello?" she said hesitantly. Just then a leva bike came through the trees. It stopped right in front of her and the guy took off his helmet. "Well good morning" said Brandon. "You again" said Layla. "What are you doing out this time of the morning?" she asked. "I should be asking you the same the" came his reply. "Well, I decided to go for a run before class" she said. 'You?" "Well I like to take an early morning drive to clear my thoughts for the rest of the day. It was kind of shocking at how they were so similar. "Oh" she said. "Well anyways, Id better get going if I don't want to be late" she said. She turned around and at that point Brandon grabbed her arm. She looked at him shocked. "Layla wait" he said. "Look, I just wanted you to know that you shouldn't over-.." "Yes, yes I know. Overdo myself. I've heard enough of it from the girls Brandon. Ill be fine" she said finishing his sentence. "Its just that I wouldn't want you to get hurt" he said before he could stop himself. "And why would you care?" she asked. "Because I do Layla. I…" he stopped. She looked at him confused. Could he tell her? "I gotta go" he said realizing what an awkward moment it had become. "Yeah, me too" she replied breaking his grip from her arm. She ran. She ran as fast as she could. Leaving him, this time, confused.

As she got back to school, she wondered what it was he wanted to say. 'Could there be something there?' she thought. 'No. Don't think so. Just ignore it. Not worth picking your brain about' she carried on. But as the day wore on, she was not paying attention in class and her mind continued to drift to the meeting in the forest. "Layla!" said Miss Grizelda, "Are you paying attention?" She snapped out of it. "Wha-?" she said. "Um.. yes totally with you" she said. "Very well then" said Miss Grizelda. "Then I guess you wouldn't mind showing the class your version of the enhanced glow attack" she said. They all went outside and watched. "Layla wasn't paying much attention in the class but felt she would save her pride and give it a go anyway. She transformed into her winx and held her hands close together nearly touching. She summoned up a tiny glowing ball in front of her. She drew her hands slightly apart and the ball grew. She was starting to shake now. 'Ok, so maybe I over did it a little on the run this morning' thought, beginning to sweat. She focused her energy and all of a sudden there were gasps. She was glowing. "Layla, I think that's far enough. You can stop now" said Miss Grizelda with a worried tone. "IVE GOT IT!" yelled Layla to her. The ground began to shake and there were screams. "Layla, stop it!" yelled Miss Grizelda. "IM FINE!" yelled Layla back to her. She shot out her hand and aimed it at a tree. There was silence for a second before the tree exploded completely. Layla dropped to the ground and she saw the tree stump before she passed out.

**CHAPTER 6**

It was dark. Too dark to even see your hand in front of your face. Layla woke up lying on the ground that was cold and dirty. 'Where am I?' she thought. She heard creepy noises all around her. She thought she saw a bat fly overhead and looked up. No sky. It was then that she felt the fear rising within her. 'It can't be!' she gasped. "No, please, not again!" she begged. She was in a large cave with rocks and dreary looking cave plants everywhere. The noises increased. She then heard laughter that echoed almost like thunder through the cave halls. "I can't be back here" she moaned. "Its impossible. "I don't think so you annoying pixie!" said a voice. "You should have known that you would never be able to get away," said another. "Aw, is the little pixie wixie scared?" came a third. Out of the shadows came three figures. They all looked positively evil and had special amulets that matched their outfit. 'The trix!' she yelled to herself. "What do you want with me you witches?" she asked trying to balance her fear with anger. Icy, Darcy and Stormy moved closer. "Why my dear, Lord Darkar sent us to find you" said Icy. "Needless to say that your pixie friends put up a hell of a fight, but yeah, with the new amulets Darkar gave us, it was pretty easy to get through them. And of course you being unconscious helped us a whole lot" she continued. "This cant be happening" whispered Layla. "Oh yes my dear, believe me, it can" said Darcy. The trix laughed. The type of laugh that constitutes pure evil. "YOU'LL NEVER GET AWAY WITH THIS!" she yelled "NEVER GET AWAY WITH IT. AS LONG AS IM ALIVE ILL DO ANYTHING TO STOP YOU" "NEVER!".

Layla? Layla? She was hot and sweaty. "What is wrong with her Ms Faragonda?" asked Bloom. "She seems to be in a deep nightmare" she replied. "Whats that?" asked Musa. "Well, its when you have a nightmare, but its so real that you actually believe its happening" said Ms Faragonda. "This doesn't look good" said Stella. With that, Layla sat bolt up right and screamed. She looked around the room and began to cry. "Don't worry sweetie, its ok" said Flora. "You'll be ok" said Tecna. "Oh guys! I thought the trix got to you and Darkar was after me and…Oh!" she continued to cry.

"Don't worry Layla, I figure that you are having these nightmares because of your experience with Darkar" said Ms Faragonda. "But" sniffed Layla "I just cant help thinking that he is up to something Ms". "I really wouldn't know Layla, but if he is, we will be ready for him" she replied. "You never need to worry Layla" said Bloom "We're always here for you. That's what friends do". "I know Bloom, its just that I'm worried that he or the trix could hurt you and it would be all my fault" said Layla. "We can handle them Layla, don't you worry" said Bloom. "Right now though I think you need some rest," said Ms Faragonda. "I- I'm afraid to go to sleep" said Layla "I don't trust my dreams anymore" she said. "Well, that's what you have Piff for" said Ms Faragonda. With that Layla's bonded pixie flew into her arms and looked up at her. "I agree," said Stella "Piff isn't called the pixie of peaceful sleep for nothing you know". But Layla never heard her; she was already fast asleep with Piff resting gently on the side of her head.

Layla awoke that night still in the nurse's office. She decided it would be best to sleep in her own bed. Alfea was rather dark at night, but Layla knew her way and wasn't to thrown off by it. She entered her room quietly so as not to wake anyone and slipped into bed. 'What do these dreams mean?' she thought. 'Why is Darkar so bent on having me as his slave?' She decided that would be tomorrow's worry. For now she was comforted in the fact that her friends were safe and that Piff would enable her to have a peaceful and dreamless sleep.

CHAPTER 7 

The next day was the same as usual. Classes in the morning and afternoon free to do whatever. Layla considered another run, but her friends questioned her every move whenever she got up. She thought to leave it until they were a bit more settled. "So guys, what do feel like doing this afternoon?" asked Tecna with a glint in her eye. "Hmmm, lets think" said Stella who also had a smile on her face. "Haha, why don't we just meet the guys for lunch?" said Musa. They all laughed, as notably, that's what they all were thinking. All except Layla. "Well I still have homework to do" she said trying to get out of going with. "Oh no, not this time" said Stella. "We're not leaving you alone for a second" she said. "We wont be long" said Bloom "you'll still have time to do your homework when we get back". "Ok" she sighed.

They teleported to magix to a new coffee shop and the boys would meet them there. Layla hadn't seen Brandon since that day in the forest. She could feel that this was going to be awkward. The popped through the portal and walked straight into the coffee shop, where it seemed, the boys were already waiting. "Hi girls" said Timmy.

"Hey guys" replied Tecna. It seemed their seats were waiting for them and they all stepped forward. Layla hated situations like this. She never knew where she fitted in. "Over here Layla" said a voice. She looked up. It was Brandon with a seat next to his right. Stella was on his left. She refused to have any expression on her face. She knew everyone was looking at her. The minute she showed a smile Stella would go off at her. "Thanks" was all she said.

She remained quiet most of the time and just enjoyed her coffee and sandwich. " You very quiet" said Brandon. "Huh?" she said "You quiet" he said. "Oh…yeah. Just thinking about stuff," she said. "About what?" asked Stella. "You still upset about yesterday?" she asked. "Im ok Stella" she said, "just trying to make sense of it all". "Why? What happened?" asked Brandon looking slightly concerned. "Layla's nightmares about Darkar seem to be coming a little to real for her" said Tecna. "I just know he is up to something!" she said aggravated "And I'm sure the trix will form part of his army of attack too" she continued. "I wish I knew when he would strike".

"Its pointless to try and pinpoint when exactly he will strike Layla. It just won't work," said Tecna. "I know," said Layla "Its just so frustrating". "Don't worry" said Bloom "no matter when he strikes, we'll be ready for him". "Yeah, we will be too" said Sky. Layla watched Bloom and Sky look at each other and smile. They were so great for each other. Layla wished she could have someone comfort her in that way. She was tired of fighting it. She had to admit, she needed someone special in her life. 'You can only fight it for so long before it hurts' she thought to herself. She continued to eat her sandwich in silence.

Brandon watched her eat silently. He could see hurt and pain in her eyes and yet there was nothing he could do about it. He focused on drinking his hot chocolate before he got caught staring at her. Over the last couple of months his feelings have increased for her. How he wished he could take her in his arms and comfort her and tell her all would be ok. She looked so scared and alone sitting on the chair. "Right Brandon?" "Huh" he said waking out of his thought pattern. "We wouldn't mind either about going to a movie tonight" said Stella "weren't you listening?" "Sorry babe. Yeah that sounds good" he replied. He glanced over at Layla whose expression had changed. He could see she was uncomfortable with this idea. "I think I'll have to give it a miss" she said "I still have all that homework to catch up on from yesterday".

That part was true, but also she would not prefer to be the lonely wheel once again when all the girls with their boyfriends went to see a movie. "But sweetie, you shouldn't be alone at this time" said Flora. "Yeah, not a good idea" came Helia's response. "Ill be fine guys, don't worry" she said. "You guys go to your movie and when you get back you'll find me in my room still busy with all the homework I have!" she feigned laughter. "I don't think Miss Grizelda was charmed by my stunt yesterday". The girls laughed and reluctantly agreed.

As they left the coffee shop and Stella was busy getting the portal ready for Layla to get back to Alfea, Brandon pulled her one side "Listen, are you sure you don't wanna come along?" he asked. "Why would I Brandon. Everybody else is a couple and in case you haven't noticed it does get uncomfortable after a while" she replied. 'Why is he so persistent?' she thought. "I get that, but don't you think that's a bit of a childish way to go about things?" he said. Her eyes widened. She was angry, almost from zero to angry in two seconds. "CHILDISH?" She said. Then she realized that they might here her, she lowered her voice. "Childish? Just exactly where do you come off knowing all about me? Last I checked we were not an item, not together and therefore you have no right to dictate to me how or how not I act!" With that she walked through the portal and disappeared. He hadn't meant to make her angry. She was cute when she was angry though. 'Ah! I need to do something' he said to himself. Thank goodness no one else noticed as he was in no mood to explain.

CHAPTER 8 

Layla got back to Alfea in a terribly bad mood. "The nerve!" she said. "Childish? I don't think so!" she continued angrily. She decided to take a jog around the school to vent her anger. She couldn't remember when last she was this angry. 'The last time you were this angry, was before Darkar had broken your spirit and you were still brave enough to take him on' said a voice in her head. She ran faster and found herself running out of the gates of the school and on the pathway into the forest. She could always clear her head in this area.

The guys and girls were just about finished with their movie and on their way back to Alfea. "That was such a good movie," said Musa. "Yeah, I thought it was going to be crap, but it turned out to be quite good," said Riven. "Yeah it was good wasn't it?" said Stella "What did you think snookums" she asked Brandon "Hmm?..Oh yeah, was good" he replied. For the entire length of the movie he had been thinking about Layla. He hoped he didn't upset her too much. He had to find out if she was ok. But how would he do that without alerting everyone? He had to think this one over very carefully.

Layla continued to run as fast as she could. She followed the pathway to what looked like an old ruin. She hadn't been this far from the school ever since she escaped Darkar's clutches. She ran towards the ruins and rested there. She was very much out of breath. She sat down and decided to do the breathing excersises. This always brought her back to normal. She was not angry anymore. Just confused about the whole matter. She lay on her back and looked at the sunset. "Beautiful as always" she said to herself. It was getting late and she needed to get back before it was dark. It was a beautiful forest, but extremely dark at night. She got up and just as she was about to leave she heard a noise to her right. "Hello? Anyone there?" she asked. Another noise to her left and one behind her. "This means trouble" she said softly. "Indeed it does little pixie" said a cold voice to her left. "What? Feeling a bit on edge?" asked the voice to her right "Or maybe its just getting a bit dark" said the voice behind her. Layla felt a pain in the middle of her back. Before she fell down she saw the evil faces of the trix appear. 'This is it' she thought before everything went dark.

The winx club girls had all said goodnight to their boyfriends and were headed up to their rooms. "We'd better check if Layla is ok" said Bloom. "Good idea" said Tecna. They all fell in behind Bloom and went to Layla's room. Bloom softly knocked on the door: "Layla, we back. Just wanted to ch.." she didn't finish her sentence. There was no one in the room. "That's odd" said Tecna "She should be in her room" "Maybe she's gone downstairs or something" said Musa. "Well, we better go and check" said Bloom. They searched for half an hour before they thought it would be a good idea to tell Ms Faragonda.

They knocked on the principle's door. It took a while but eventually she opened the door. "Girls, its late, what are you doing up?" she asked. "We can't find Layla Ms" said Flora. "I saw her go for a run earlier in the afternoon. You mean she's not back?" she asked. The girls nodded. "Oh dear. I do think we have a problem" said Ms Faragonda. "Looks like we'll have to go and look for her. Ill call Saladin and ask if he could send his Red Fountain Specialists over to help". "That's great Ms F. We'll search the grounds of the school in the mean time" said Musa. At this, the girls left the office. "I hope she's ok" said Flora. "Don't worry, we'll find her" said Bloom.

Saladin burst into the doorway of Brandon and Sky's room. "Specialists!" he boomed. The guys fell out of their beds and stood stock straight. "We have a situation at Alfea" he said. "What's the situation?" asked Sky. "One of the fairies have gone missing" he replied. "WHAT!" they both said. "Well..who is it?" asked Sky panicked. He gave a sigh and then said "Its Layla" "What!" yelled Brandon. "Well, while you guys and your girls went off to the movies she came back to Alfea. She then went for a run but never came back". "Well, we have to find her," said Brandon. "That's exactly why I'm here" said Saladin "You, Sky, Timmy, Riven and Helia will be helping the girls find her. The rest of the guys are waiting downstairs waiting, you better get a move on". 'Layla, missing? God I hope she's alright' thought Brandon. If anything had happened to her he wouldn't know what he would do. "You taking this quite personally aren't you?" said Sky. "Um..well yeah, she's a friend" was all Brandon could say. He hoped that she was ok and that they would be able to help her. He wouldn't know what to do if anything bad happened to her. 'Because I love her' he thought.

CHAPTER 9 

Darkness. Noises of bats. Wet, damp and miserable. Layla woke up and found herself in these surroundings. Still groggy she tried to focus her mind. "What happened?" she mumbled. "Where am I?" she wondered. She looked around. It was dark, but she could make out silhouettes of things around her. Large rocks and damp moss were everywhere. She looked up, and then it hit her. "No, please!" she gasped. "This cant be happening. I'm dreaming!" She realized that she was in a large cave. "I must be dreaming" she said panicked. She pinched herself to wake up. It had to be a dream. This couldn't be happening for real. "Ow!" she had pinched herself really hard. "I'm not dreaming. This is real" she said lowering her head. This was her worst nightmare come true. But was it so quiet. Why not noise and Lord Darkar appearing out of the shadows? "He's testing me," she said. She now remembered the attack on her by the trix. "Those witches are gonna get it" she said becoming angry. 'That's it' she heard a voice say inside her head. 'You need to fight this. Fight with your heart. You have the power inside you Layla'. "Who are you?" she asked. 'I am you, the part of you that was lost when Darkar took you. You have the power Layla, now fight to keep your freedom'. "I don't know if I can do this alone" she said. 'Your friends will find you, but for now, don't give up'.

She felt invigorated. She was ready. She knew it. "If this is what it has come to, I'm ready for you Darkar" she said to the walls. With that she got up. Still slightly bruised from the attack of the trix, but she walked. "First plan of action…to get out of here," she said walking to what looked like an exit.

The sound of the Leva-bikes coming through the gates of Alfea eased the girls anxiety a bit. "Its about time!" said Stella. "Hi guys. How has it been going?" asked Sky. "Oh Sky, we've searched the whole school and there's no sight of her! I hope she's all right" said Bloom. "Did she go for a run around the school or into the forest?" asked Brandon trying to keep his tone neutral. "Well, Ms Faragonda saw her around the school that why we checked here first" said Stella. "Maybe we should go check the forest," said Musa. "We can stick to the pathway. I'm sure she would have stuck to that as well. She wouldn't go off the path for a run". "Right then" said Riven "lets get going then". They all agreed and headed out the gate towards the path. It was dark and dreary, but they persevered as the lights from the leva-bikes gave enough light. "Gosh, it really looks completely eary at night" said Flora. "Yeah I know what you mean" said Helia. They continued up the path until it looked like they came to a set of ruins. They stopped and had a look around. They were looking in one direction when Bloom came across something on the ground "Hey guys! I found something!" she yelled. They all rushed over. Sky put a torch onto the object. "It looks like Layla's favorite arm band" said Musa. "Oh gosh!" said Flora, "Is that blood!" "Yes.." said Bloom dully. She looked up. She was now rather angry. "We have to find her now! I have a feeling that Layla's dreams about Lord Darkar and the trix might be coming true after all" she said. Brandon flinched. Blood on her arm band? 'God I hope we're not too late' he thought. 'We have to find her. I have to tell her how I feel! It cant end like this!' he carried on. "Hold on Layla, we're coming" he said softly.

Layla continued to walk down what seemed like an endless passageway. 'Ive been walking for ages' she thought 'when am I coming to an end?' She saw a small pin prick of light up ahead. 'At last!' she thought and ran as fast as she could. As the light got bigger she sped up. She came to the end and had to stop herself by skidding in the dirt. She fell. Instead of it being a way out, what layed before her was a large cavern that dropped way deeper into the cave. 'Phew, that was a close one' she breathed. "Guess I'm back tracking then" she moaned. She got up and turned back towards the long passageway. She heard a rumbling sound. 'Uh oh' she thought. The growling sound got louder. Out of the shadows came a four-legged monster with the sharpest teeth she had ever seen. She stepped back and then realized that the canyon was behind her. 'Great' she thought 'stuck between teeth and open air'.

She had to think fast. "Right" she said to herself. The monster gave a loud roar. Loud enough to shake the ground. It bared its teeth to her. "Sorry boy," she said "I'm not becoming fairy food today". With that she ran straight ahead towards the monster and just before she reached him she jumped up off the ground and catapulted herself over the back of the monster. "Sorry, don't have time to play. Gotta go," she said. She turned to run when she spotted another similar monster heading her way. "Oh just what I need" she said. "Well here it goes" she said. "Magic Winx!" she yelled. Layla had transformed into her winx form and was ready for action. Now both monsters were heading her way. She stretched out her hands on either side of her. 'Time this one well or else' she said to herself. She waited for just the right moment. "Morphix Bubble!" she yelled. Two pink balls let rip from her hand. It hit the monsters mouths at the same time. They moaned as they couldn't bare their teeth anymore, however the continued to charge. "What!" Layla gasped. 'Now what?' she thought. She looked up. 'Ah ha'. She pointed her hands up to the ceiling and once again had to wait for the right moment. "Just a little closer" she breathed softly. The monsters were now less than a meter away from her. "Morphix vine!" she yelled. Two strips of morphix latched itself to the ceiling and just as the monsters were about to crush her, she hoisted herself up and held on. The monsters crashed into each other and with a puff of smoke, disappeared. Layla let herself down from the ceiling of the cave. "I feel great" she said. "I'm not weak. I can do this". "Now, to carry on finding a way out of this horrid place" she said.

They were walking back to the leva bikes when Flora came up with an idea "Hey!" she said. "Why don't we take the arm band and try that location spell that we learnt in class the other day?" she said. "Flora, that's brilliant" said Tecna. "Ok" said Bloom "Lets get what we need and do the spell". They took half an hour to get all the necessary ingredients for the spell. "I hope this works" said Musa. "It better" said Stella. The winx girls stood around the circle of ingredients and they started saying the spell. After they chanted they put Layla's arm band on the pile. There was a flash of light and a hologram of a big mountain appeared. "Where is that place?" asked Tecna. "It looks like…" trailed Stella. "Lord Darkar's castle" finished Bloom. "So he does have her! Oh no!" said Musa. "Don't worry Musa, we'll find her" soothed Riven. "Well, what are we waiting for, lets go!" urged Brandon. "Oh Brandon, its so nice of you to care about our friend like this" said Stella. "Anything for a friend babe" he said meakly. What he actually felt was much more. If that evil maniac layed a hand on her, he would tear his limbs off one by one. They were ready to leave when they heard the sky over head thunder. "It didn't look like rain a second ago" said Stella. "Um…guys. I don't think this is natural" said Tecna "My monitor is picking up powerful magic". "Looks like we have company guys" said Bloom. "Be on your guard".

CHAPTER 10 

Layla had been walking for what felt like hours. Every tunnel she took turned out to be a dead end. "How am I ever gonna get out of here?" she moaned. She continued to walk up the newest tunnel. She came to a vast opening. "Where am I?" she said. She looked around. Rocks and even plant growth was visible. It was definitely lighter in here. 'That must mean I'm finally heading in the right direction' she thought. "There should be an exit here somewhere," she said. She continued walking straight ahead and came to what she thought was an opening. She stepped forward to go through the new hole. "Ow!" she yelled. She had walked right into a wall. 'What the..?' she thought. 'It looks like an exit but it was blocked with magic' she thought. Just then she heard a loud roar that sounded more like laughter. "Oh no!" she breathed.

The trees had started to sway in the wind and the thunder was getting louder. "I don't like the looks of this," said Sky. "Yeah me neither" responded Bloom. The heard rustling in the bushes. Then the laughter. "Here we go" said Musa. "They approached from all sides. "Well, well, well" said Icy "what do we have here?". "Where is Layla you evil witch!" yelled Bloom. "If I were you, I wouldn't get to angry. She's probably Darkar's slave by now. That is of course if he hasn't killed her yet. Personally I prefer the latter" responded Icy. "Why don't you just give it up now you witch, we going to get through you and then rescue Layla!" screamed Brandon. 'Why is he acting like she was more important to him than he was letting on?' thought Stella. 'Ill have to figure that out later, but right now looks like we are in for a fight'.

The Trix summoned up shadow monsters all around them. "Oh great! Just what we need," said Riven "they obviously don't intend making this easy". "Yup" said Sky. He then turned to the girls "You take out the Trix and we'll deal with the monsters". "Right!" said Bloom "Come on girls…MAGIC WINX!" All the girls transformed and were ready for a fight. "Aw, look Icy," said Stormy "looks like the pixie wixies wanna play".

"We're ready for you, you witches" said Bloom. With that she let out a fire attack that narrowly missed Icy's head. "Ooh!" said Icy, "I'm sooo scared". Bloom let out another attack and this time it scathed Icy's arm "Aah! Stupid fairy. Ill teach you not to mess with me! ICE DAGGERS!" she yelled. Medium sized ice daggers flew at Bloom. She gasped. "Sonic Blast!" yelled Musa. The daggers exploded. "Thanks Musa!" said Bloom. "No probs, now lets finish them and save Layla" she replied.

Darcy was facing off with Flora and Tecna, while Musa and Stella kept Stormy busy. Bloom was with Icy. "Ive got her in my techno web!" yelled Tecna to Flora "tie her up with your vines Flora!" "You got it" said Flora "Vine tie!". Darcy fell to the ground. "Aah! Damn you pixies" she said. "Hmm, it seems the amulets is what strengthen their powers" said Tecna. "Lets just remove this shall we?" she said to Darcy. "Ah, my powers!" she yelled. "Guys! It's the amulets that give them their power!" yelled Flora to the others "Destroy that and they'll be nothing!". Stormy turned to see Darcy on the ground. "Darcy!" she yelled. As she turned back she felt blinding light in her eye and a booming feeling in her waist. "Shouldn't have let your guard down you witch!" said Musa. Stormy dropped to the ground. She was out just long enough for Musa to remove her amulet. "Huh? What? Damn! My power" she yelled. "Great stuff Musa. Come on lets go help Bloom" said Stella. "Right!"

The guys had by now defeated the monsters. "That oughta teach you to mess with us!" said Brandon. "Hey bro" said Sky "is something up that you want to talk to me about?" "Huh? Why would you ask that?" replied Brandon. "Hmm, you like her don't you?" said Sky. "Wh-" was all he could say before Sky interrupted him. "I see how you look at her when she's around. You look at her the same way I look at Bloom after I haven't seen her in a while. With longing" Brandon dropped his head. "What am I going to do?" he asked Sky. "Look bro, I know this is difficult, but you have to follow you heart" he replied. "I love her" said Brandon simply. "I figured" said Sky "Look, no matter what happens, I'm there for you bro, ok?" "Thanks Sky. I don't know how I'm going to tell Stella." Said Brandon. "I think now wouldn't be a good time," replied Sky "Lets rescue Layla first and once things calm down, you can figure out what to do". "Good idea" said Brandon. At that they joined the others and watched the battle happening above them.

Bloom and Icy meanwhile had been evenly matched swopping blow for blow. The rest of the girls joined Bloom and circled her. "What!" said Icy. "Hmm, it looks to me like your outnumbered there" said Bloom. "Lets do it girls!" "What? Nooo!" yelled Icy as all the girls released their strongest attack simultaneously on her. She screamed and dropped to the ground. Bloom ripped her amulet off. She looked up at the girls and said, "Right, now lets go save our friend". With that they left in the direction of Darkar's Shadow Castle.

CHAPTER 11 

The laughter echoed throughout the vast caverns of the cave. "So close and yet so far my princess" the voice boomed. "What do you want with me!" she screamed. "Why princess.." said the voice "with your powers I can create an army strong enough to control the whole of magix". "My powers aren't that strong!" she said "Oh come now! Who do you think you fooling?" said the voice again "your powers are strong enough to rival that of the Dragon Fire possessed by your pal Bloom. You cant say you didn't know that!". She didn't. She had no idea. 'Why have I never felt it then?' she asked herself. 'Maybe you did' said that voice inside of her again. 'You felt it when you used the glow attack on that tree remember?' 'Yes! I do remember. If I can just harness that power I can at least put up some kind of fight against Darkar!' she thought.

"You'll never get away with this Darkar" she said. "Oh my princess, I already have. As we speak the Trix are probably obliterating your friends right now. And soon Ill have you!" he bellowed. "NO!" she screamed. It couldn't be. 'Brandon' she thought 'My friends…' She felt tears sting her eyes. 'No!' she wouldn't believe him. She wouldn't trust him with all his lies. "They more resourceful than that Darkar, just you wait" she said between clenched teeth. Just then the whole area shook. Some rocks fell from above and Layla managed to side step them as they fell. Out of the shadows, came a large figure. It looked like it was pure black smoke in the shape of a large phoenix. As it flew towards her it slowly changed shape. Layla gasped and stepped slightly back. When it landed there stood Darkar looking as evil as ever.

'This is it' she thought. "I'm ready for you Darkar" said Layla as he drew closer.

The group had arrived at the base of Lord Darkar's castle. "How do we get in?" asked Musa. "Well, when we rescued the pixies with Layla, the entrance seemed a bit further up" said Bloom. "Well, I see a hole just over there" pointed out Stella. "Great. Then that would be the most logical point to enter" said Tecna. They all entered into the cave. "Wow, its really dark in here!" said Flora. "That's why we have torches" said Helia. "Always be prepared," said Sky. "Great. Then lets get moving," urged Brandon. "Um, sweetie?" said Stella. "Huh? Yeah?" replied Brandon. She waited, then said "never mind". They all carried on through the dark tunnels that seemed to lead to the centre of the cave. They came to a wide opening. "Now where are we?" sighed Bloom. "Hmm, it looks like we managed to take the right path after all" said Tecna "we seemed to have come to the centre of the underground castle". "Great!" said Musa "now all we need to do is search for Layla".

In another cavern unbeknownst to the group, Layla was about to be involved in a fight for her survival and freedom. "I'm ready for you Darkar" she breathed. He walked ever closer. His eyes glowed a bright red and he gave her a look of pure evil and malice. "Time for you to learn your place, my princess" he said. "You have to kill me rather than have me as your slave" she replied. "Hmm, you put up a tough bargain, but I think it can be arranged" he said "and before you die, I'll drain you of all your power!" With that he fired a blinding red ball directly at her. Her eyes wide and breathing hard she ducked it just in time. "Magic Winx!" she yelled. She transformed and immediately fired off a stretch of Morphix aimed at his legs. 'If I take out the legs, the rest should follow' she thought. Darkar groaned and fell down. "Yes!" Layla said. She flew into the air and was about to use a morphix bomb when Darkar ripped through the morphix binding his legs. "What?" she breathed. "Stupid fairy, you really think that your plan would work?" he bellowed. With that he fired off another flaming red ball. This time it caught her and shoved her hard against the wall causing rocks to fall.

"Wait!" said Riven "what was that?" "Yeah, I heard it to" said Musa. "Sounds like its coming from the other side of this wall" said Timmy who was trying to scan for an opening. "I found an opening" said Flora "Looks like it might lead that way". "Well lets go" said Bloom "I don't like the sounds that are coming from that side".

Layla fell to the ground and fell hard. She was bruised now and out of breath. 'That's too much power' she thought. 'How am I ever going to beat him?' 'You posses the power within remember' said the voice inside her. 'Yeah that's all nice and things' thought Layla 'but I kinda don't have time to sit and find it!' 'Just believe' said the voice to her again. "What? Is that all you've got for me princess?" said Darkar cruelly. She looked up at him, this time with pure hatred in her eyes. "Not by a long shot Darkar!" she yelled. She got her bruised body up and began firing shots at him from all angles. She needed just one lucky shot. She must have been firing rapidly as she felt herself getting warm all over. She managed to get him on his leg. He dropped to his one knee. "Hmm, you seem to be firing up now" he said sarcastically. "Im not done yet!" she screamed. "Oh I think you are!" he yelled back. He fired some kind of ray from his eyes that hit her on the side of her shoulder. She screamed out in pain and hit the ground again hard. "Oh God! That hurt" she said. Her shoulder was bleeding now. "Looks like I caught you off guard princess" he sneered "definitely not the true form of a warrior". She crawled up to a rock and steadied herself on it. "You'll pay for this you bastard!" she screamed. She was weak. She didn't know what else to do. 'I felt it earlier, the power' she thought. 'if only I could harness my energy and strength, I might be able to beat him!'. Just then she felt a kick to her stomach. "Aah!" she breathed. All the air had been kicked out of her. She rolled over and another shot was received in her back. "Come on princess! Thought you had a bit more in you!" bellowed Darkar. The amount of pain she was now in was excruciating. The blow to her back received by the Trix was now further agonized by the blow received from Darkar. He then proceeded to lift her and slam her into the wall. She fell hard returned to her normal form. "The pain is too much" she whispered. 'I don't know how long I can keep this up. He's relentless' she thought. 'I need to find some way of distracting him so that I can have a plan of action'.

CHAPTER 12 

"There it is again," said Bloom. "I think we're getting closer". They came to an opening in the wall. Just then they heard a scream. "Huh? Oh gosh! Its Layla!" said Flora. The group saw how Darkar had hit her in the back and then flung her against the wall. "That bastard" said Brandon in between clenched teeth. They saw how after Layla had been flung against the wall she returned to her normal form. "Oh no, she must be very weak!" said Musa. "Come on guys," said Bloom "lets get Layla back".

Layla looked Darkar directly in the eye. "How do you suppose anyone is going to let you control the universe?" she asked. He looked at her questioningly. "What? You doubt the power that will become mine? I will be unstoppable!" he yelled. "You know that there will be those who will oppose your evil rule. You wont be able to kill every single one of them," she said calmly. This took him aback. "I'll handle that when I get to it. Right now I think Ive had just about enough of you! Time to die princess!" "And just how do you propose youre going to do that?" said a voice behind him. "Huh? What the.." he said as a flaming ball of fire was aiming directly at him. It hit him in the chest. "AAAHH" he screamed as he landed on the ground. "GUYS!" called Layla. "Layla!" they yelled. They all ran to her. By now she was to weak to move much but she made the effort. "I knew you'd come for me" she said. "As I said, we would never leave you alone" said Bloom.

Just then, they heard a voice "Well, well, well, looks like Im going to be credited with taking the winx club out!" "You can't fight all of us at once Darkar!" yelled Brandon. "Yeah, and in case you're wondering, the Trix are a bit indisposed at the moment, so they wont be coming to assist" said Sky. "Hmm, seems like I underestimated you lot" he said "looks like Ill have to bring out the heavy artillery." At that point there was a loud boom and Darkar transformed into the gigantic shadow phoenix.

Layla watched in horror as the monster grew. She caught Brandon looking at her again. 'Oh, not now!' she yelled at herself. 'I need to focus'. Everyone stepped back. Layla was a bit unsteady and was about to fall, when she felt strong arms grab her. "You ok?" asked Brandon "Sorry I t- I mean sorry we took so long". "Ill be fine. Right now we have a bit of a big problem" she said pointing at the rapidly growing shadow phoenix. 'Amazing! She's battered, bruised, bleeding and yet she still acts tough! What a lady!' he thought. He watched her limp forward and look directly at Darkar.

The explosion came fast. Everyone was blown backwards. Layla watched as her friends were strewn around the cavern. 'NO!' she thought. 'I refuse to let this happen!'. "DARKAR!" she screamed "your battle is with me! Leave them out of it. Its my power you want after all isn't it?" "Layla don't!" yelled Bloom. "Im not losing my friends today!" she yelled back. She started glowing, a bright light came from within her and she rose off the ground. "What's happening?" asked Tecna "I think we better find cover" said Bloom.

Layla felt her power increase. She could feel it in her veins. She transformed into her winx state. She could feel the power. "You time is now Darkar. You will never hurt anyone as much as you hurt me!" With that she stretched out her hands in front of her. She turned them sideways. A tiny ball of pink light appeared. "She's going for it!" said Bloom. "For what?" asked Musa "The glow attack" replied Bloom. Everyone gasped.

The ball was now growing increasing big and the ground was beginning to shake. Layla was weak but she knew in her heart she could do this. "Leave now Darkar and take all your pain and suffering with you!" she screamed and with that let rip the ball straight into the shadow monster's chest. A roar echoed throughout the cavern. When the light and dust settled both Layla and Darkar were on the floor. Everyone stepped out. "Layla!" shouted Brandon. She was on her knees. She looked up at her friends and smiled. She got up and walked/limped towards them. Although she was more powerful, it still did not heal her wounds. As she walked to hug her friends she felt a sharp pain in her chest. "Ah!" she gasped. "What? NOOO!" Yelled Brandon. Darkar had his one hand up and laughed maniacally. Brandon rushed over and sliced the monsters head clean off.

Everyone rushed over to see if Layla was ok. 'She's not breathing" yelled Tecna with tears starting to form. "Oh no please!" cried Musa. "I – I" was all Stella could say. "It cant be..," cried Flora. "Lets take her back to Alfea" said Bloom with tears in her eyes. "I've got her," said Brandon, who had by now lifted her up and was carrying her towards what looked like an exit.

As he walked, the others just watched. They all eventually started moving. As he continued down the pathway, he looked at her cradled in his arms. 'Please!' he thought 'wake up. Please! I cant live without you'. He could feel that she wasn't breathing. 'Why couldn't I save her? Isn't that what heroes are supposed to do?' Just then Sky caught up with him. "She'll be ok," he said. "She's not breathing," replied Brandon dully. "Maybe there is something they can do for her at Alfea. Magic and all ya know" he said. "I hope so Sky because if I loose her, I don't know what I'd do," said Brandon.

The girls were walking towards the exit. Stella had the feeling that Brandon was letting on more emotion than he should. She was upset by the fact that Layla could possibly be dead. It hurt. She hadn't felt like this since she heard her parents were divorcing. Yet there was a part of her that wondered why Brandon was seemed more concerned than usual about Layla. If she were just a friend he wouldn't react like this. Unless he… 'NO!' she thought. 'Does he h-have feelings for her?' Now wouldn't be a good time to bring this up. She would have to wait. And yet looking at the way he was looking at her cradled in his arms, she was sure how long she could wait.

"Finally" said Musa in between sniffs, "an exit". "Lets hurry guys," said Bloom.

The ride back to Alfea seemed to take forever. 'God!' thought Brandon 'Please don't take her ways from me. I know that ive realized too late that I love her and want to be with her. Please give me another chance. Please'. He felt a tear fall down his cheek as they flew through the gates of Alfea. Ms Faragonda was already outside. Somehow she had sensed that the girls were on their way back. She did not, however, expect to see one of her girls dead. "What happened?" she asked. "Layla defeated Lord Darkar and HE somehow managed to get one last shot in.." said Bloom, who by now had tears running down her cheeks "she's n-not b-breathing" she sobbed. "Get her to nurse Ofelia now!" she yelled.

Brandon ran as fast as he could with in his arms till he got to the nurse's office. She put Layla on a table to examine her. He stood by the closed door. He heard mumbling until he heard clearly the words 'she's dead..' through the door. 'WHAT" his head screamed. 'It couldn't be!'. He needed air. He ran outside to the nearest tree and collapsed. He started to sob now. It was all he could do. His true love was gone.

CHAPTER 13 

"She's dead" said nurse Ofelia. "WHAT!" screamed the girls. "Is there nothing you can do?" yelled Musa. "Oh, this cant be happening" said Flora. "Oh nur-" started Bloom. "If you girls would just let me finish!" snapped nurse Ofelia. "She's dead, but there might be something that can save her" she continued. "Huh?" said Bloom. "How, we'll do anything". "Well you see, when a person dies, there is a certain window period that one can use to bring a person back to life before their spirit completely leaves their body" said Nurse Ofelia. "So, what do we have to do and how long do we have?" asked Tecna. "Well its nothing you can do…" said nurse Ofelia. "Huh? What do you mean nothing we can do?" asked Stella. "Well its nothing you can do, its something that a loved one or true love can do. And to answer your question Tecna, we have less than an hour left" "WHAT!" "How are we gonna sort this out?" asked Tecna. "We don't know how to get hold of her parents in terms of loved ones and well..Im not sure she has a true love" Stella had by this time slipped out of the room. 'I have to know' she said to herself. She needed to find Brandon.

She went through the passageways of Alfea and couldn't find him. She saw the guys in the far corner but he wasn't with them either. As she was coming down the stairs, she looked out the window. She saw Brandon sitting under a tree with his head bowed. 'Hmm, that's too odd to be a coincidence' she thought. She walked to the outside to where Brandon was sitting. "Snookums?" He jerked as if she had frightened him. She could see he had been crying. His face was red. "Um.. yeah hun?" he said trying to sound normal. "Erm, are you ok?" she asked. "Oh…yeah…am fine" he said his voice shaky. "This has really upset you hasn't it?" she asked. "Of course it has!" he snapped much to her shock. "Wouldn't it upset you too? She's your friend!". "I know that!" she snapped back. "But what I meant was, its upsetting you more as if you thought of her as not just a friend" she gently continued. At this he looked into her eyes as if searching. "Stella…I…" he began. "Do you like her?" asked Stella with tears filling her eyes. "I…" was all he could say.

How was he going to tell her he not only liked Layla but he loved her. "Hmm, I see" she said. "What?" asked Brandon. A tear fell down her cheek. "You l-love her don't you?" she said starting to cry. 'Its now or never' he thought. "Stella, I..never meant to hurt you. It just kind of happened. I'm not even sure how she feels. I don't think Ill ever know. I want you to know I never cheated on you. Ever." She looked at him. A long time passed before she began to speak. "I know you would never cheat on me" she said simply. She thought for a while. "Amore always tells me that one should never stand in the path of true love….and I wont Brandon" she said. "Y-you not angry or anything?" he asked cautiously. "I'm hurting. Ill admit that. But I can't blame you. You were honest enough to not cheat on me even though you felt something for her" she said. He got up and hugged her. "Thank you Stella. I do appreciate this. I just wish I knew how she felt before it was too late" he said dropping his head again.

At this point Stella gasped. "Oh gosh! You still might be able to know!" "Huh?" was all he could say. "Nurse Ofelia said that when someone dies there is a certain time period or something that you can still save them. It has to be done by a loved one or a true love!" she screamed. "And?" he asked. "Well, you're her true love!" "I don't even know that Stella!" "Well, are you gonna take that chance of not finding out?" she asked, although he could see it hurt her to say it. "Well, lets go" he said.

They ran up the stairs to the nurse's office. "Stella? Where have you been?" asked Bloom. "You could help us find a solution". "I have" she said and brought Brandon forward. "Brandon?" they all said in unison. "What's this about Stella?" asked Musa. "No time now" she said. "Go ahead Brandon" she said. With that Brandon walked forward and saw the bruised and bleeding body of Layla. Tears stung his eyes again. Although beaten she looked so peaceful and serene. "Come on Brandon" whispered Stella. Everyone was focused on him now. He leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on Layla's lips. There was a silence that no one could break. Everyone was confused and yet hoped that Layla would wake up. Brandon dropped his head in defeat. "I.." but he couldn't say a word and turned to walk to the door.

Just then all the girls gasped. "What's happening?" asked Flora. He turned around to see Layla levitating off the table and glowing a subtle pink around her. She gently then landed back on to the table. Brandon walked forward. "Layla, come back to me" he pleaded/whispered. Then a slight frown appeared on her face. She gently opened her eyes and looked directly into his. "Hello" she said and gave a gentle smile.

"HOORAY!" "You did it!" yelled Flora. Just then they all looked at Stella. "Ill be fine" she said and smiled. "Right!" boomed nurse Ofelia. "All of you need to leave, I still have a lot of work to do with her. You can come by later ok?" "But.." started Stella, but with the look she had on her face there was no point in arguing. They all left.

Of course everyone wanted to know how it came to be that Brandon could bring Layla back to life. Brandon caught up to Stella and said, "This is going to interesting" "Not too worry, we'll work it out" she said smiling at him.

CHAPTER 14 

"All right!" snapped Bloom, "what's going on?". "Well, Brandon and I have discussed this and we have decided it would be in both our best interests to break up" said Stella simply looking at Brandon. "WHAT?" yelled the girls. "I don't understand" said Tecna "its so illogical!". "Well," continued Stella "Brandon has feelings for Layla". "WHAT?" they yelled. "Ok, now I get it" said Musa "that's why Layla woke up. Its because he is her true love". "L-look" he began "I still don't know if she feels the same way". "How could she not!" snapped Stella "she woke up didn't she?". "Yeah but…" he trailed off. "Look Brandon" said Stella "You're never going to know if you don't find out now will you?". Everyone looked at them. "Listen guys, Ill be alright" started Stella "I've learnt a lot from Amore and as I said to Brandon, she always told me that love cant be bottled and kept. One's heart tells you which way to go. It would be pointless for Brandon and myself to continue seeing each other if he's heart is not in it. It's not right. Please don't hate him. I don't blame him or Layla. It's the nature of things. Sure, I'm hurt, but I take comfort in knowing that they did not do anything behind my back and that I took first priority. That takes courage".

Everyone seemed to lighten up after this. "We're not angry at anyone" said Bloom. "We're just glad that this wont cause a friction in our friendship". "Come on guys" said Flora, "its late and we need the sleep. We'll check on Layla tomorrow". With that everyone said his or her goodbyes. Even Brandon and Stella parted with a hug.

"Wow man" began Sky "so now what are you going to do?" "I don't know" replied Brandon "I have to think about this. Does she feel the same way? I'm not even sure if she recognized it was I in the nurse's office. I guess we'll have to figure it out tomorrow". With that the boys all went back to Red Fountain for a well earned sleep.

Layla woke up lying in the nurse's office. She stared at the ceiling. It was dark. "I wonder what time is it?" she asked in a whisper. The nurse had given her the run down of what had happened and how she came to be lying here. Including the bit about Brandon being able to bring her back to life. What she didn't know was how it came about that he could bring her back to life. Was he her true love? He wouldn't have done it if he didn't feel the same way. What about Stella? According to nurse Ofelia, she had been in the room when it happened and didn't look in the slightest bit angry. She even encouraged him to do it. 'UH! So confused. I wouldn't bare to be able to face her' she thought. No one had come to her to say all was ok. With these thoughts running through her head, Layla fell back to sleep.

CHAPTER 15 

Layla awoke with the sound of birds singing and the sun shining down gently on her face. 'It must still be early' she thought. With that she got up and decided to take a walk (not run, she knew better than that) around in the gardens of Alfea. So much had happened. She had not had the time to let it all sink in.

As she stepped out the doors she was faced with the brilliant light of the day. She had never experienced such a beautiful day. She continued to walk down the path that leads to the garden.

'I can't believe Darkar is out of my life forever' she thought. 'I wouldn't have made it without my friends' she thought. "Yes, they truly are my friends". She sat down on a nearby bench and just took in the beauty of her surroundings.

"THERE YOU ARE!" yelled a voice. It was Bloom and the girls. "You nearly gave us a heart attack you know!" said Stella. "Um..hi guys" she said "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you. I just looked out the window and saw what a beautiful day it was and well wanted to come outside. It gave me time to take all that happened in, ya know?" "Yeah" replied Musa "we understand. You've been through a lot". Layla saw Stella looking at her and then began "Um.. Stella? I…" but got interrupted. "I think you and I need to chat alone?" she said looking at the other girls. "Huh? Oh yeah. No probs" said Bloom "come on girls. We'll get you guys inside ok?" "Yeah" said Stella.

"Look" began Layla immediately "nurse Ofelia told me everything that happened and I don't know what to say. We didn't do any-" "I know" said Stella "Brandon and I discussed the whole issue. Its ok Layla. I'm not angry at you. I know that you both respected me too much to do anything" she smiled. Layla sighed with relief "Oh Stella" she said. She hugged her friend. Stella turned the other way and then said, "But right now I think you have more urgent issues that need your attention" "Huh" said Layla and turned to see Brandon walking towards them. "I d-don't" she began. "You can do this Layla," said Stella with a smile on her face. With that she got up and walked towards Brandon. She turned to Layla and winked. She walked to Brandon, said something to him, and then walked on towards the school. 'Oh boy! Here we go' thought Layla.

"Hi" said Brandon. "Um..hey" replied Layla. "Can I sit down?" he asked. "Yeah…I guess so" she replied. They sat there a while in silence and looked around at the beautiful surroundings. "Look" he finally said, "can we talk in private? It feels like the whole school is watching". "Ok, let's go for a walk then shall we?" she suggested. They walked along the pathway that led into the forest. Layla hadn't been too happy about wondering into the forest but Brandon reassured her "Don't worry, he's gone now". "I know" she said "Its just that its difficult to just relax ya know?" "Yeah, I know" he said. They walked a while until they got to the ruins. Layla looked at the spot where the witches attacked her. "I should have defended myself better," she said. "How could you? It was three against one," he said. "Yeah, I know, but I just should have been more prepared" she continued.

"You know, you're way to hard on yourself" he said. "I train, I'm always prepared, I never let my guard down, and at the time my head was so overwhelmed and I was thinking of yo.." she stopped herself immediately. "Hmm, so I was on your mind" he said slyly. "Well its not like you weren't thinking of me!" she snapped back. "Ok, ok. No need to get uptight" he said. "Look, by now Im sure you know what happened. You wouldn't be here right now if you just thought of me as a friend. An it would not have worked if I thought of you only as a friend". "Yeah I know. Its just all so surreal. I mean I never needed that feeling of being with someone, and then I meet you and my whole perception on life changes completely. It was so confusing. I just.." but was interrupted by him grabbing her arm and moving closer. "Shh" he whispered in her ear. He pulled away slightly and looked into her eyes. She knew what was coming. He brushed a strand of hair out her face and leaned in and kissed her gently on the lips. She could barely breath. She had been waiting for this for so long and now her dream was coming true.

He could feel his heart beating faster. It was everything he could ever want and wish for. He knew this was right. He finally got the girl of his dreams and all in the world seemed perfect.

They pulled apart, "Well?" he said "Hmm?" was all she could say. "Aha. Come on, lets get back. Wouldn't want your friends to worry about you". "Yeah, best we do that" she said smiling. With that they walked back to Alfea and this time it was hand in hand.


End file.
